MimiJudith said: "I wonder if this has anything to do with the fact that the understudy is David Lansbury, the nephew of Angela Lansbury."
I thought your comment made sense, e.g., maybe some form of loyalty to an old friend by being nicety a relative. Then I read the article posted by Wildcard, and that blew up your premise. Lansbury is the person he initially refused to work with. So, did he feel loyalty the actual understudy or something else??